In the past air has been often used as an insulator, and water, which is much more dense than air, has been used for the storage of heat in solar heating systems.
However, it is object to this invention to provide the concept of having a heatable bag of flexible transparent material filled with water or other fluid disposed in the sunlight to entrap heat from the sun to operate a turbine. The ambient temperatures in the out-of-doors are never very high so one of the ways this is made practical is to use the hot fluid to heat freon, for example, in a heat exchanger so as to use hot gaseous freon to drive a turbine and make electrical power.
Another way this is made practical is to insulate the bag of heated fluid with a bag of insulating air above it and then to further impede the loss of heat to the atmosphere from the heatable bag by placing a layer of water above the layer of air, the water being also in a bag. Further insulation is achieved by placing a layer of air in a air-bag above the insulating water layer. The number of alternating air bags and water bags can be compounded to achieve whatever resistance to heat loss from the heatable bag is necessary.
It is an object to provide a strong support for the bag system by providing an earth embankment around all sides of the bag system.
Rainfall into the bag system would create a problem and this is taken care of herein by covering the entire system with a layer of waterproof thermosplastic material of transparent nature. The covering is also extended down over the embankment so the embankment can stay dry whereby the earth therein makes better insulation.
Simular layers of insulation bags can be used under the heatable bag to prevent heat loss downward.
A problem arises as regards causing an air bag to hold a desired shape. And so it is an object hereof to provide the concept of securing the perimeter of each air bag to the perimeter of the water bag therebeneath. Since gravity causes the water bag to hold a level shape, then the securing to the air bag establishes the position of the underside of the air bag thereabove.
An object hereof is to provide a system capable of delivering gas for driving a turbine system to provide the electricity for a large metropolis. Many square miles covered with many such flexible bag systems and located in a relatively sunny part of the country, such as Arizona, could economically deliver electricity to New York City, for example.
A problem arises when a long sequence of cloudy days occurs but delivering hot fluid from the heatable bag into the heat exchanger makes a practical way to run a turbine by the hot gas, such as freon, from the heat exchanger, because of the stored heat.
The problem of calcium deposits clogging the surfaces of the fluid bags, when water is used, is taken care of by using soft water therein.